Kaizoku
by SugoiChiibi
Summary: Instead of being raised as a ninja in Konoha, Naruto is raised as a ninja/pirate out on the sea! He never planned on picking up passengers, especially not one overly late Uchiha trying to get to Wave Country! OOC Naruto OOC Sasuke, SasuNaru pairing eventually.
1. To The Sea!

Well, this is my first story on here! I started this account a very long time ago, and honestly forgot about it. I've written stories before, just not posted them! I hope people like it! It should update regularly but we will see. It's probably going to be an unusual pairing for people, but if you don't like it don't read it. I also cannot guarantee that the characters will be true to canon in actions. Especially Sasuke, he will be very OC. There is a bit of self inflicted harm in this chapter, and while its going to come up again, it won't be something thats focused on throughout the story. Naruto goes by three different names here, but it should be relatively easy to pick them apart. I also changed a good amount of details for the purpose of this story, like ages, and some general geography. Other than those the story will somewhat follow canon, events will go in that order at least.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of its characters, but I do have a few OC's in here.

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The Elemental Nations, a place where many took their residences, and a place where many feared the open waters. Only a few countries had opened their lands to trade by sea, knowing that with the right bargaining tools, they could secure safe passage. The seas surrounding these relatively peaceful lands, none allies to each other yet none in war time currently, were as one would say, uncharted waters. The prospect of exploration had been shot down early on, as many traveling ships had disappeared without a trace not long after departure. Many of the Nations that faced water at that point stopped attempting to sail them, knowing that they were going to have to die trying wasn't worth the extra risk. The ninja way was difficult enough, becoming a seafaring nation was unnecessary. Many other Nations, Fire, Water, Iron, and Tea continued to explore, and eventually figured out that a nomadic group of people lived on ships in the waters outside of the territorial boarders, and had been protecting their right to live there. Thus they took to trade offs. Safe passage in exchange for peace. No more attacks would occur, and trade between the people even started. Fish became more common in the Nations, and trade prospered.

But with peace, always came conflict. Pirates began to roam the waters, from both groups of people, saying that the old way should no longer be the only way to live. This caused problems for the travelers, because they were often robbed and or killed if they sailed too close to a pirates waters. Eventually a price was established for safe passage, but it was one that many nations weren't willing to pay. Many times, the pirates asked for fresh sailors, often from the Navy's or from the trade ships. Because the price was steep, many felt it was too much to ask for, and decided to leave the waters alone again. One Village, within the Land of Fire named Konoha, had pledges in order to continue trade, knowing that it helped their land considerably. Many times they sent war criminals, or criminals of minor offenses to the sea, knowing that giving battle hardened warriors was better than losing a chance for better prosperity.

Then, one day the land of Fire was attacked by the Nine-tailed Fox, a demon of immense size and power. The leader of this relatively young Village took him down and sealed him inside of a baby boy, not yet revealed to be his son. The boy was named Naruto, and from that moment on his life was known to be a living hell.

Three Years Later

A blonde boy, three years of age and energetic to a fault could be seen running down one of the larger lanes of the Village of Konoha, dodging attacks as best as his little body could carry him. He could not say for certain why they were attacking him, on his birthday no less, but he knew that if he were to ask, they would reply with shouts of devil spawn, and hell bringer. Naruto could only run so far though, as he was cornered in an alley. Time seemed to slow for him as his aggressors advanced towards him. He tried to hide behind a trash can however the closest villager to him knocked it over, knocking the small child over in the process. He hit the ground and as he did it was almost as if he saw a ghost. There, standing at the back of the group was a man in a cloak. A flash of silver went through the air as the man charged through the villagers. None could fight back in time as they were all mercilessly slaughtered. Naruto, who had just witnessed what could only be called mass murder, fainted. The man in the cloak sighed, and walked towards the boy. This was his ward? Had they mixed something up? Someone from the village had asked him to take this boy away, for whatever reason. The pirate captain had spent enough time on land, and in this village hidden away as a mere villager, to know that this boy was the pariah of the town. His contact hadn't given Captain Hollis Buckley much on himself, only that he was a "concerned third party" and that he wanted the boy to be stronger than anyone else. Stronger was something Hollis could do. He was the strongest Pirate on the Seas. Answering to none, and working for himself, he made his name one that everyone feared. With a sigh he bent over and picked up the still unconscious child. He was told that in order to be able to leave with the boy he would need to be disguised. That was something Hollis could do, hide in plain sight. He stole away the child, wrapped tightly in his cloak, and made his way back to the orphanage that the boy lived at. Once there he grabbed the belongings of the child, and made his way to his own apartment.

"Lets see what we can do with you yet." Hollis muttered to himself, surprisingly determined to help this young boy. The "concerned third party" who identified himself as Hawk, had given Hollis a few scrolls that only Naruto could open, saying that his training would be made easier with them. He then proceeded to use washable hair dye to change the golden blonde locks to black. He also took skin latex that he kept in his home to help cover wounds when he gets them, and used it to cover the whisker marks on the boys face. Finally after he finally feels like he looks different, he wets the boys hair down and uses hair gel to slick it back over his head. It was after these changes took place that the boy woke up.

"Pardon me Oji-san, where am I?" The boy asked, as politely as he could muster. He was terrified, and last he'd seen the man in front of him had murdered a bunch of people.

"I have taken you to my apartment Naruto-kun. I have been tasked with raising you in my ways. However here is not the place for this conversation. I have to bring you to my ship, then we can talk. I have changed your appearance for the time being, so that we could get you out safely. This village has done you wrong for the last time." Hollis spoke, rubbing the boy's shoulder affectionately. Getting a closer look at him, he could tell the boy was emaciated. He'd never had a good meal in his life, and to top it off he acted like a whipped puppy. He flinched at any sound that was louder than a whisper, and if you addressed him he'd shy away in fear.

"What should I call you?" Naruto asked, unsure of how this was going to end up. He'd been tricked before, and it never ended nicely.

"Hollis, Buckley, anything really I don't care so much as it isn't rude." The man commented, showing Naruto a mirror.

"As of right now, and until we make it to my ship, you are my son, you are named Mark Buckley." Naruto nodded, not fully understanding but he knew he'd get answers at some point.

"Alright, we leave in twenty minutes. Any belongings you have currently will be replaced. I apologize, but life on the sea is different from on land, and you will have to learn to survive." Hollis stated, putting his nose in the air as he spoke of his profession. Naruto nodded again, hoping that whatever this guy is doing it would help Naruto be the best ninja he could be. Hollis glanced at the boy one more time, and used what little ninja training he had to secure his belongings in scrolls. That was the limit on what he could do, considering he was not raised as a ninja, however received instruction by a kind man in the village one day. When Naruto was finished preparing himself he glanced at Hollis one more time. Hollis had black hair that was tied back at the base of his neck, and went down to the middle of his back, it was somewhat wavy, and obviously placed in a ponytail to manage it. His blue eyes stood out against the age lines of his face, making him seem younger than he was. There was a scar that ran from underneath his eye towards his upper lip. As Naruto shouldered the pack that was placed on the table, he thought about the few friends he'd be leaving behind. From playing with other kids in the park, he had made three friends, Nara Shikamaru, Inuzuka Kiba, and a more mysterious Uchiha Sasuke. All three of those boys had been brought to the park by their mom's, and while they were always welcoming of him, none of the adults offered to bring him home with them for a meal or to play. Naruto sighed and shouldered the pack, while following his "father" out of the apartment.

"Just follow me, and don't say anything, don't act like yourself." Hollis whispered in his ear. Naruto thought of how he should act for a moment before deciding he was going to imitate Sasuke. He narrowed his eyes and glared at everything around him. As he did so he realized that people weren't bothering him. They weren't yelling at the "demon child" and he wasn't being chased by mobs of people.

"We might as well keep your hair that color when we come into port, at least then you won't be recognized." Hollis stated smirking. Naruto nodded and followed closely behind the black haired man as they walked. The port was in view when Naruto saw a large black ship looming over the dock.

"There she is. Calypso's Cruelty. So named by her previous owner. I won't say how I gained ownership until you get older." Hollis chuckled, using a rope that hung over the side of the ship he climbed his way to the deck.

"Well son? Are you coming? Grab the rope and I'll pull you up. I'm going to give you a tour before we set off. We'll need to call my crew back as well." Hollis muttered the last part of the sentence to himself. He knew the crew would give him shit for taking in a child, but chances were many of them were trying to settle down as well. Getting an idea, Hollis hoisted the flag, wondering how long it would take Konoha to realize they were harboring an infamous pirate. Naruto was smiling up at the flag. He'd heard stories about the pirates who roamed the waters surrounding the Elemental Nations, dreaming that they weren't just myths. This was going to be the beginning of a great adventure for Naruto.

11 Years Later

The last loyal Uchiha was running late, and he knew it. He had been up late training and forgot to set an alarm. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, however today was the day of his teams first C-rank mission, and by the time he'd gotten to the gate where everyone promised to meet, they had all left. His next best option was to find someone in port who would be willing to sail into Wave country for him, considering he had no clue how to get there on land, and by water it was faster. However that would be few and far between considering the issues Wave was going through currently. Sasuke had only heard a little of the financial issues, and Kakashi had mentioned that there was someone controlling a lot of those waters.

"Oi! Lazy fucker! Git yer arse off the mizzenmast! If ya have time fer napping ya have time fer cleaning!" A young male voice shouted from the deck of a ship newly into port. It seemed as though they were loading up on food and water and then sailing again.

"Excuse me!" Sasuke shouted from the dock, hoping to get the attention of someone who could help him.

"Yer excused!" A sailor shouted back, with a bark of laughter coming from the crew.

"Shut yer traps!" The voice came back over the ships rails, closer than before.

"What do ya need?" The same voice called down, a head of black hair peering over the railing. The blue eyes that met Sasuke's seemed familiar, however the face and hair were strange to him.

"I need to sail to Wave country. I was hoping to pay you and your crew to take me. I have money to pay." Sasuke answered.

"Wave Country ay… Aye, I'll take ya. But be warned. This ain't cheep passage. Nor is it easy." The man smirked, showing a surprisingly full set of white teeth. His canines were pointed slightly, however it wasn't an unnatural amount.

"Well? Ya comin' on board er what?" He gestured to the gangway where his men were still loading supplies. Sasuke smirked and used his strength to jump onto the side of the ship.

"Ah yes, a ninja. Fought a few of ye in my days." The boy, as Sasuke noticed he was no taller than he himself, stated a smile on his face.

"That's funny Captain, you bein' 14 an ol'." Another man called back, only to receive a fierce glare from the boy Captain.

"Captain Kano Buckley. I know who you are though, Last Uchiha. You're name precedes you." The boy stuck his hand out for Sasuke to shake. This was a strange ship he'd gotten himself onto.

"What kind of pay should I give you? I have no money on me, not much at least, however upon safe return I will pay you all you require." Sasuke turned, but was greeted with a wicked looking grin.

"Oh money ain't somethin' we require. You prob'ly didn' notice, but this is a pirate ship. We ain't merchants." Kano commented, pointing to the Jolly Roger that hung from his mast.

"Are ye still needin' ta go ta Wave? Us here on the Calypso are the only crew willin' ta travel inta that land. Take yer pick." Sasuke gulped. He knew he didn't have much of a choice, especially considering he needed to arrive around the same time as his team.

"I'll do it." He turned and shook the hand of the Captain.

"ALRIGHTY MEN! WE GOTS US A FINE NINJA TA DELIVER!" The booming voice of the 14 year old boy shook Sasuke to his bones. The crew cheered and began to hustle around the ship and her decks at a quicker pace. Kano obviously had a great control over the many men on his ship, something Sasuke was grateful for.

"So ye know, ye can go anywhere on the ship but the hold and the gallery. We may even need ye on the guns. If ye think yer strong enough ta handle a fight should we need, ye might make a good pirate yet." Kano smirked, turning away briskly from Sasuke. The boy wore traditional seafaring clothing, light and easy to work in, however durable and warm. The cotton of the cloth was shrouded around his broad shoulders and strong arms. His skin was tan, having obviously been in the sun quite a bit, and his hair was long and pulled back at the base of his neck. He wore tall leather boots, and as he walked away he placed a black tricorne hat on his head.

"PREPARE TO SET SAIL TO WAVE!" Kano shouted, which caused a rippling effect in the men working. Many of them stopped what they were doing to unfurl the sails from their holds, and many others working to raise the anchor. Sasuke felt utterly out of place, and while he'd hoped to be of some use on the ship, it was obvious that there wasn't much he could actually do. A feeling he greatly disliked.

"Give me something to do." He stated, seconds before a rapier was placed to his neck.

"Did ye just order me? Boy? I don' take kindly to those who give orders to those of higher rank. If I've need of canon fodder, I'll tell ya." The man pulled his sword and sheathed it rapidly, while his eyes, which had been startlingly blue, had changed to gold.

"Find a place to stay. Its best to stay on the Captains good side. He may be young but he's been out there longer than any of us have. His father died, and with him the crew that used to run this ship left. He had to start over with a new crew last year, and even then most of us are still getting used to the way this all works." Another boy, maybe 3 years older than Sasuke stated with a smile. He seemed nice enough at least.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha." He put his hand out, which was taken readily.

"Hideo Mizushima, I'm from Spring Country." He smiled and took Sasuke down to where many of the men had their bunks.

"Its about a weeks trip to Wave on ship. By the end you'll be walking like the rest of us." Hideo mentioned.

"I doubt it. I'm not one for water. My chakra affinity is to fire." Sasuke muttered, glad to have passage to Wave but still wishing he'd gotten his own as out of bed on time.

"That's right, you're a ninja. Our Captain knows some ninja arts too. He doesn't use 'em much but he's stronger than anyone on this ship without his special tricks. With 'em he's unstoppable." Hideo laughed.

"You mentioned that his father died. Is that how he came to own this vessel?" Sasuke inquired. As much as he should be thinking about his mission and how he's pretty much failed it, he couldn't help but feel curious about the Captain. Something about Kano reminded Sasuke of a friend he'd had many years before. That same boy disappeared and hadn't been heard from since, however it left Sasuke without a friend when his family was killed. He vowed two things that night. To find his lost friend if there was anything left of him to be found, and to kill his brother. Which order that came in held no consequence to him. In his book, the only good thing about sailing to Wave was avoiding listening to Sakura bitch all day. She was a thorn in everyone's sides, and her voice made it worse, she sounded like a banshee, and if she got suspected of being one, no one would argue otherwise.

"Aye, he passed two years ago. He wasn't his real dad mind you. It took Captain another year to come around to sailing again, but when he did he had a whole new crew, and trained us all from the bottom up. It wasn't easy though, other than the ships boys he's the youngest on the vessel. Many men thought they could out do him, and many tried to cause mutinies." Hideo stated, finding a bit of canvas lying around and using it to make a hammock for Sasuke.

"They obviously didn't succeed. This Captain must be strong." Sasuke muttered, thinking about challenging the other boy, who was the same age, to a friendly duel while they were sailing.

"Aye, best swordsman in all the seas I think. None of the men who stood against him for right to the ship lived, boy." Sasuke's eyes widened. He hadn't even activated his Sharingan and this person had already conquered the sea's?!

"How can I challenge him?" Sasuke found himself asking.

"Well, ya can ask. I don' think yer ready to fight me." The Captains voice came from across the gun deck. Sasuke jumped slightly. He hadn't sensed the other person, and they reportedly have chakra.

"Mizushima, I made ya my mate fer a reason. This sorta work ain't yours to do. Have 'im string 'is own hammock." Kano snorted.

"Sir, I like helping out the new people. He's just a passenger." Hideo smiled and continued to help.

"I wonder how ye can be a pirate when yer so damned helpful. And boy, if you wish ta fight, at 1800 come ta the deck." With that statement Kano left the deck.

"Well, this is a great start." Hideo muttered to the small knots he was putting in the rope to secure Sasuke's hammock.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

That asshole. Of course he would demand to travel with them. Of course he would be on this vessel. Kano angrily returned to his quarters in the gallery. The boy from his childhood was currently on his ship. He'd long since moved on from life in Konoha, and made a point to not return unless it was an emergency. Too many people would recognize him if he wasn't careful. He was lucky that Sasuke wasn't too observant. Kano had grown up knowing exactly who and what he was, and spent almost that same amount of time hiding from it. Walking to the mirror and water pitcher he kept in his room, he scrubbed the makeup off of his face that covered his whisker marks. His crew knew what he really looked like, and why he hid, and it would be too strange to go without changing back. He knew there would be consequences, such as becoming a nuke nin of the village where everyone just thought he was dead, but he'd burn that bridge when he got to it. Deciding to get it over with before he second guessed himself, Naruto, or Kano as he'd taken to calling himself, stalked to the main deck and dove cleanly off the side.

"Takin' a dip Cap'n?" A crewman asked.

"Like usual." Naruto called back, allowing the temporary dye to run off of his hair, revealing the golden locks again. As his adoptive father had done, Naruto grew his hair out long, discovering that the spiky locks went away once they'd passed his shoulders, and his mothers naturally straight hair took over. A sigh escaped Naruto's lips as he realized he hadn't bathed in quite some time. One didn't always have the luxury to spare for bathing every other day, and sometimes they went weeks without being able to bathe. He stripped his shirt off and chucked it back to the deck, along with his boots, and dove under the water to catch a few fish.

Sasuke was walking back onto the deck when a leather boot knocked him square in the head. He looked around confused by the sudden attack, finding no one who wasn't wearing shoes.

"That'll be our Cap'n. Young Uchiha." A tall brown haired man walked over to where Sasuke was staring at the water.

"What is he doing?" Sasuke asked, genuinely confused. The taller man shook his head and walked away, stating he had something else to do.

"Swimming. Washing the shit from his hair. Usually he catches fish for us when he dives as well. He can hold his breath for quite some time, so we get a good catch." Hideo commented, walking over to the railing. Sasuke found himself mouthing "washing shit from his hair" before he walked over to the side of the boat to see something he never thought he'd see again. A golden head popped above the water with a bunch of fish caught in a very large water bubble. The once black haired Captain now had blonde hair. And whisker marks on his cheeks. And those blue eyes that Sasuke had been having nightmares about for years. After his family was slaughtered he would dream that Naruto was killed along side them, with his blue eyes wide and lifeless. Yet here he was, grinning like a mad man and maneuvering a water jutsu over to the deck of the ship, where the fish flopped all over until controlled by a net from one of the deck hands. Naruto followed soon after, climbing a rope lowered by one of the other men. Naruto didn't look anything like the child he was supposed to be. The muscles in his upper body were developed to be lean but obviously firm, as there was no ounce of fat on his body. His arms were tense as he pulled himself up, using a small amount of chakra to stick his feet to the slippery side of the ship. Sasuke had to pull his gaze from the blonde's body to glance at his face, only to see the face of his longest friend, and self-considered brother. Without saying a word, he walked up to the other ninja/pirate, and used a chakra enhanced punch to his gut. Naruto had obviously been expecting it, because he'd sent chakra to that area of his body, as well as clenched those muscles.

"YOU ASS! I THOUGHT YOU'D DIED. AFTER MY FAMILY WAS KILLED I LOST EVERYONE. I HAD NO ONE! YOU FUCKING ASS." Sasuke shouted in anger, unleashing as much into the fight as he possibly could, but found he could do little against Naruto. His anger rose as he realized that Naruto wasn't taking him seriously. He could also feel tears running down his face, but he couldn't be bothered to care. Without thinking, Sasuke began to run through the handsigns for his Giant Fireball jutsu, when Naruto's eyes widened and as quickly as he could he threw up a sealed barrier around the two boys, that even encompassed the floor below them.

"SASUKE. CALM THE FUCK DOWN! YOU'RE GOING TO BLOW UP THE SHIP!" Naruto yelled in response, however knowing that he couldn't release his hands from where they held up the barrier without injuring his crew and his beloved ship. Sasuke wouldn't listen however and let loose the full force of his jutsu right at Naruto. Seconds seemed to run longer as Sasuke realized what he'd done. He'd just used his strongest jutsu, a fire jutsu, on a wooden ship. Directly at his best friend.

"Oh Fuck!" He bolted forward, finding Naruto very pissed and very burnt. He'd kept the barrier up and absorbed most of the impact onto his own body.

"You are very lucky to be living right now." Naruto growled out, his eyes turning golden again.

"If you weren't someone I considered precious you would be shark meat in little under a minute, you hear me? You never damage this ship. Ever. If I so much as hear of you disregarding that simple order, you won't make it to port. Got that?" Naruto ground out, obviously more concerned about his ship than his own condition. Flakes of skin fell off of his body as he moved to let the barrier down. As soon as he did Sasuke was grabbed by multiple hands and dragged below deck into the brig.

"This is the last thing Captain has of his father. You'd do well to remember that." Hideo glared at Sasuke. As soon as he was left alone he punched his leg repeatedly until it bruised, and when he couldn't take it anymore, he began to do the same to his other leg. This continues for some time until a hand grabbed his fist mid swing.

"Stop! Stop that!" Naruto yelled in his face, kneeling down in front of a very disgruntled Sasuke. He'd healed completely by then, which was probably no more than a half hour since having been burned. Not a sign at all that he'd been nearly burnt to a crisp.

"Why are you doing this?" Naruto demanded, using a small healing jutsu to heal the bruising.

"Its how I punish myself. It started after my father died, not having anyone to discipline me, I took to doing it myself." Sasuke said offhandedly. Naruto's heart reached for Sasuke's in that moment. He hadn't realized that the massacre had happened until a few years after the event occurred, and by then he was travelling on the other side of the world it seemed. Naruto put his head onto Sasuke's knee.

"I didn't want to leave. Someone contacted my adopted father and had him sneak me out of the village. I found out a few years later why. The people of the village were planning to have me killed. A day after my birthday 11 years ago I was smuggled out under the guise of Mark Buckley. The son of one Hollis Buckley. However to many seafaring folk, he went by another name. Hollis "The Black Devil" Buckley." Naruto explained. That was a name Sasuke has heard multiple times before. The Black Devil was one of the most notorious Pirates to sail in these seas. There was nothing on his death however, which meant that Naruto had taken up the name.

"I have nightmares, seeing you dead alongside my family, you're blue eyes open but not seeing anything." Sasuke put his hand on his best friends face. Feeling the warmth of a living being, and seeing those same eyes alive and vivid. For the second time that day Sasuke cried. It was uncharacteristic of him, however that whole day had been strange. He'd never sailed before but there he was sailing on a Pirate ship. He'd never really found many other people to be attractive, however there was something there that he couldn't explain towards Naruto. He thought he'd never feel happy again but there he was, happy to have his friend back. Naruto wiped the tears from Sasuke's face, and relished in seeing that boy he'd known all those years ago. The boy who had gotten on his ship earlier was cold and unfeeling, and the boy in front of him was just a lost child.

"We have a week before we reach Wave. We can work from there." Naruto smiled nicely and stood up, leaving the door to the brig open after him.

"A'righ'! The lad's feelin' a might apologetic 'bout nearly destroyin' the Calypso!" Naruto shouted to the ranks of men about the ship.

"Why are you speaking like that?" Sasuke couldn't help but wonder.

"Habit really, the more angry I get the worse it is. The only reason you could understand me earlier was because I was trying to make it easy for you. Just pray you never hear it, not a word is easy to understand." Naruto laughed, rubbing the back of his head with his hand. That habit hadn't left from childhood.

"Mizushima, show 'im how to splice a line, an' if you get a chance show 'im some fencing." Naruto spoke, tossing a rapier at Hideo.

"You'd best thank him, he's not normally very gracious." Hideo whispered in Sasuke's ear.

"Thank you Captain." Sasuke spoke, thanking someone for the first time in what had seemed like years.

"Tha's better. Don' forget, yer a guest." Naruto smirked and sent a small wink back at Sasuke, who stood astonished. It hadn't taken long for Sasuke to splice a few lines, sometimes forgetting to tuck them over and under at the end most times however. Hideo, as he'd asked Sasuke to call him, was proud of his progress and decided to move on to the fencing.

"Do you have any knowledge of sword fighting?" Hideo asked. Sasuke shook his head, and grasped the hilt of the rapier offered to him. It was thinner than a katana hilt was, wrapped in leather rather than in twine which was normally wrapped around hilts. It was surprisingly more comfortable than he thought.

"This style is different from anything you'll have seen in the Elemental nations, its called Fencing. It focuses on swift and precise hits rather than flashy movements." Hideo started, showing Sasuke the proper footwork, and starting into some of the movements, such as the thrust and the counter, all the while correcting his stances, keeping his movements rigid to force him to remember them. Naruto was watching them on the main deck from his quarters. He'd never imagined that this would happen, in all his years of traveling. There his friend was, being taught how to fence on his own ship. A small smile settled onto lips as he watched the face of his best friend light up when he got the move right for the first time. It had taken Naruto a very long time to work out fencing, however it was worth the frustration.

"Sasuke, why is your team going to Wave anyway?" Hideo asked, while working through the forms with Sasuke.

"I wasn't given all the details, however Tazuna has been building a bridge, and he needed to come to the Fire Nation in order to get supplies. And he needed an escort back for some reason." Hideo nodded, however it was that statement that got Naruto to thinking. He'd been one of the only people brave enough to sail in those waters, knowing that Gatou had taken control of them. The man was an evil person who had taken over all of Wave country, forcing the people into poverty and killing anyone who stood against him. Now, Naruto realized that he sounded very similar, however he only killed those who did evil, and he only stole from those who have nothing left to give, and sometimes compulsively. He found he was a slight kleptomaniac, however only when he had to go into port towns, and only from stores that wouldn't suffer as greatly from his theft. He tended to steal anything that had a shine to it, much like a good pirate would. He had enough wealth to last his and his crews lives, thus taking to exploring and fighting when he could. His reputation, which started from when the ship first started sailing, long before he' taken the helm, was one of danger and the promise of death upon meeting him, however that wasn't inherently true. If someone were to challenge him, that's when they would meet danger, if they left him alone, he left them alone.

"Think you can handle a small spar?" Hideo asked, pulling his own rapier and holding a stance in front of Sasuke, who looked nervous. Meeting Naruto again had flipped a switch in Sasuke, one that many probably didn't know he had. He got nervous, he wasn't as confident, and it was obvious that his holier than thou attitude had all but gone.

"Maybe not." Sasuke laughed, a sound that Naruto hadn't thought he'd hear from the boy ever again. The last time he'd heard it was when they were 3 years old. The laugh he heard was deep with a small amount of vibrato. Naruto sighed and proceeded to exit his rooms again, having changed out of the wet clothing he wore, and replaced them with a loose cotton shirt and black pants. He didn't dress like a ninja, finding no need to do so seeing as how he almost never used any of his ninja arts in the world beyond the land of the nations. This day had been one of the first that he'd ever felt compelled to use them in a fight, and it was a good idea.

"Give it a try. Never know, could be easier than ya think." Naruto smirked, lighting a few lanterns as he walked around the deck, keeping an eye on the spar as he went. Sasuke was not a swordsman by nature, and that was obvious, but at the progress he'd been making on the first day alone he could hold his own at least for a little bit by the end of the week, Naruto predicted. He glanced up at the crows nest on the main mast, and set about climbing up to it via the netting that was hung by the port bow. Once he'd reached the top the pirate who'd been sleeping up there shot to his feet.

"CAPTAIN! NO SIGHT OF WAVE SIR!" He shouted, obviously thinking more time had passed than it had.

"Stand down Will. O' course it ain't there, we left port but 5 hours ago." Naruto sighed, feeling the breeze over his face. It was going to be a long week, and he knew that after it, he might lose his friend again. What Sasuke didn't realize, as was obvious, was that there were other ninja's on Naruto's crew, one of them being Hideo. He'd made sure to recruit ninja's to his crew to make sure they wouldn't lose a fight with a crew should one come up. Naruto nodded and after climbing down, rung the bell that signaled a shift change. They took four-hour shifts, sleep 4 work four and sleep 4 again until finally day broke.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Yer group, where' they stayin'?" Naruto asked, a week had passed, and while he knew that his crew expected to leave again right after, something aboard the ship told everyone that a fight was ahead. Sasuke looked at him, and shook his head.

"A guy named Tazuna. He's the bridge builder." Sasuke sighed. Naruto nodded, having heard of the man through the expanse of the black market. He didn't know where he lived, however that wouldn't be too difficult to ascertain from people in town. Naruto had dyed his hair black again, and covered the marks on his face, and this time, had even donned contacts that changed his eyes from blue to red.

"Nice touch, by the way." Sasuke joked, poking Naruto in the face. Over the week, he'd warmed up to not only the crew but also the Captain, something Sasuke never thought he'd do, considering he tended to avoid human interaction while in Konoha. He tolerated working with his team, which consisted of him, Sakura, and another genin who was really only skilled at detecting other chakra's. Their leader was Kakashi, who was always late, and always making excuses. The team didn't work very well together at all.

"I was recognized last time, that won't happen again." Naruto joked back, punching Sasuke in the shoulder. They were sailing under the open part of the bridge, when they saw a small fishing boat pass before them.

"I recognize two of the people on that boat, that must be my team. Don't sail too close to them dobe." Sasuke commented, adapting back to the attitude he'd had before boarding the ship. Naruto knew that was coming, having talked to him about keeping Naruto's secret.

"We will find a port to dock, and I'll bring you to your team, as a way of peace between all of us." Naruto spoke, turning to change. He couldn't afford to look anything less than respectable, thus he grabbed his gun belt, his rapier, and changed into what one would expect from a Naval Officer.

"You look like child playing dress up." Sasuke snorted, receiving another punch from his friend.

"At least I wear more than one type of clothing." Naruto commented, pulling at Sasuke's shirt. All of his clothes were the same, pretty much. It made it easy to pick out clothes in the morning, without worrying about looking stylish.

"Yeah whatev… They're getting attacked!" Sasuke felt a wave of chakra from Kakashi wash over the ship. Not thinking about where they were going to dock, Naruto called for them to drop anchor, grabbed Sasuke's hand, and jumped over the starboard bow. Over the week, Naruto had taught Sasuke to walk up and back down the main mast, to control his chakra, as well as how to walk on water, which had been useful when on open waters. They both went sprinting over to the fight, to find Kakashi trapped in a water bubble, with Sakura and Kunio, the other member of his team, doing their best to keep Tazuna away from the fighting. Standing over the water they were in front of was someone Naruto knew well.

"Zabuza Momoichi!" He shouted. Sasuke turned to look at him but didn't question how he knew the man.

"Ah! If it isn't Mr. Buckley. I wasn't expecting someone of such….esteem to be joining our fight." The grey skinned man called back, obviously sneering at the esteem comment.

"Dobe, let go of me, I will kick his ass!" Sasuke had tried charging forward only to be stopped in his tracks by Naruto.

"Yeah 'dobe' let him go, see what good he can do." Zabuza called.

"Hey! Don't you dare mock Sasuke-kun! He's the last Uchiha! He can kill you if he wanted to." Sakura all but screamed. Sasuke glared her down, not only for his own sake but so that Naruto didn't think they were a thing.

"And where's Haku? I thought ye two were travelin' together. Don' tell me ya work fer Gatou?! You know he'll kill the both of you without payment! Ya remember Yukihiro!" Naruto strut forward, back onto solid land and deposited Sasuke by his team.

"Of course I remember Yukihiro! Don't you dare pull that shit on me." Zabuza snapped and launched a bunch of kunai towards Naruto. Who pulled his sword and sliced them all from the air.

"Ye can' tell me tha' yer workin' fer th' man tha' killed yer lover." Naruto ground out.

"Money is money! And Haku doesn't know that!" Zabuza suddenly looked terrified, turning behind him, while simultaneously dropping Kakashi into the water. The tall Jounin let a huge gasp of air enter his lungs, as he looked at the familiar man on land challenging Zabuza.

"Teme. Retrieve yer leader." The boy ordered. Sasuke glared at him and grabbed Kakashi, after having walked on water to get to him.

"When did you learn to do this?" Kakashi muttered, exhausted from trying to fight out of the water prison.

"I may not get along with the Captain of that ship, but someone on it thought I should learn." Sasuke said in his normal monotone.

"Who is the Captain?" Kakashi asked, glancing back at the decked out man.

"Cap'n Kano Buckley." Was the reply from the black haired man. Kakashi felt his blood run cold. He thought he recognized the name from when Zabuza had said it, however hearing the full name, it was a miracle he had a third member to his team.

"Th' boy works hard. 'E worked wi' me crew durin' th' week." Kano smirked at him. Sasuke turned slightly green at that comment, and Kakashi had to wonder what happened during that week. He didn't want to leave the only competent member of his team behind, however they didn't have a choice.

"Maybe tis time I stayed ta land fer a bit. Wha' say ye teme?" Kano let a maniacal grin don his face. In that second Zabuza was struck down by senbons to his neck. A second adversary appeared then, however instead of taking care of Zabuza, who was dragged onto land and dropped very carelessly, the person went over to Kano and hugged him.

"Kano-kun! What do you mean that Gatou killed Yuki-chan?!" the voice, distinctly female demanded.

"Haku, ye gave yerself away. An' maybe this chat should 'appen elsewhere." Kano pulled away, throwing Zabuza over his shoulder and turning to Tazuna.

"Tazuna, th' bridge builder. Yer well known ta us sea dwellers. Take us to yer home." Kano instructed. Tazuna felt a drop of sweat go down the back of his shirt, but did as he was told and led the way.

* * *

There it is, also if you think the words are strange, its mostly me trying to write what that accent sounds like in my head, think along the lines of Captain Barbossa from Pirates of the Caribbean...

Please review! Its my first story so be nice! I hope the chapters will all be this long on average but one can really only hope haha.


	2. Crashing Waves!

Here we are, next chapter, brought to you after a stressful few weeks. Well...more like 2 months, but who's counting? I had a bit of trouble with trolls, like the ones that my cousin was having issues with, and I realized that they were popping up everywhere.  
TO THE TROLLS:  
I don't give a damn if you don't like what I have to write. From what I can see you don't like anything that isn't following the canon story to a T...which would be a copyright infringement if I'm not wrong, so enlighten me. Why should a **_FANFICTION_** website have to follow the stories at the risk of its writers getting sued?

Fan- a person with a strong and habitual liking for something.  
Fiction- something that is the product of the imagination.  
Put those words together and you get a person with a strong habitual liking for something and the compulsion to write something in response that is the product of the imagination.  
Does that make sense to you? I figured if I used the dictionary definition of those words you'd understand, and I'd say it in another language because your grammar and terrible spelling suggested to me that you weren't a native english speaker, however I only know American Sign Language, which doesn't here. And if you are a native english speaker, with writing ability like that, what makes you think you have the right to tell other people their FAN-FICTION sucks?

I'm good now. I deleted the message and reported it, however because it was a cowardly anon, thats the best I could do. Now, I hope this chapter goes well, for whatever reason I struggled to get it saved, and somehow the last half of the chapter cut off and I had to rewrite it from memory. I got it done though and hope to have some more finished at another time. I have some big plans for this, just watch.

* * *

The group, with Haku and Zabuza flung over her shoulder, made their way another three miles before they reached a small house that lay next to an inlet of water.

"I'll find me crew. Tell 'em ta dock here." Kano spoke, running off towards where he'd told them to drop anchor a few hours before.

"You can find this place right?" Tazuna asked, hoping that the ship wasn't too noticeable, however getting the feeling it was going to stand out quite a bit.

"Aye, ain't no trouble." Kano called back, disappearing through the trees. Sasuke was glad to have his friend there, whether he was going to admit it or not.

"Lets just get inside alright? I'm tired of carrying him." Sasuke snapped at the rest of the people that were there. He knew that at least he could take some authority while Kakashi was out, considering no one else was as strong as he was until Kano came back. Tazuna nodded, and knocked on the door. A younger woman, around 30 opened the door.

"Father! You made it home!" She spoke happily, ushering all of them inside.

"We are expecting one more." Sasuke said to her as he passed, with a small smile he only let the woman see. She smiled back to him and helped him to deposit Kakashi on the couch in the room next to the kitchen.

"These are the brave ninja who brought me back home safe! There is another boy who is coming soon." Tazuna said, and almost immediately after there was another knock on the door.

"I'm Kano Buckley, was travelin' wi' one o' th' ninja." Kano spoke from the other side. When the door opened, Sasuke was surprised to see his friend wearing a black tank top with a grey vest over it, with cargo pants.

"Had ta dock th' ship." He chuckled and took a seat next to Sasuke before Sakura could. He then proceeded to stick his tongue out at her, giving Sasuke a view of the golden rings, three of them, that dangled from his ear. He hadn't noticed them before, however he hadn't been that close to him anyway.

"Everyone, this is my daughter Tsunami, and my grandson Inari is somewhere around here." Tazuna started looking around.

"Whi' yer lookin' I'll talk ta Haku." Kano stood up, and grabbed the girls hand. She'd taken her mask off and really was a beautiful girl, and her being able to take down Zabuza meant she was strong too.

"Dobe, let me hear this too. I need to know if they are dangerous." Sasuke stood up. Kano glanced at him, an amused expression on his face.

"A'righ' Teme. Better ya hear i' anyhow." Kano nodded to both Tsunami and Tazuna, then led them out towards his ship.

"Alright, Sasuke, this is Haku. I met her and Zabuza the first time I ever visited Mist country." Sasuke nodded and took her hand in a handshake.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Sasuke Uchiha." He spoke politely, going back to how he acted before, knowing that she was a friend of Naruto's.

"A pleasure. I am Haku Yuki." She smiled pleasantly.

"Now. Let me start from the beginning. One of the members of my fathers crew was someone named Ayame Yukihiro. She was young and fell for Zabuza when he'd first taken in Haku, who was a young child. They got split apart by the civil war in Mist, and she'd joined my father. We docked and he came aboard attempting to rob us. I was just a 5 year old child at the time, and ended up making friends with Haku. Yukihiro was the one who stopped Zabuza eventually and they fell in love. About a year after this occurred we found Gatou for the first time. He'd been one of the merchants who was trying to conduct the trade of slaves, all of which were those who had bloodline limits. Yukihiro tried to stop him on her own and he killed her. Those of us on the Calypso had no clue what happened until he rubbed it in our faces, but there was nothing we could do without starting a war with Mist." Naruto explained, holding a sobbing Haku.

Sasuke reached over and put his hands on both of their backs, rubbing small circles as he did. Both people visibly relaxed as he did.

"I will speak with Zabuza. If there is anyone who can talk him out of working for Gatou its me." Haku steeled herself, wiping tears from her eyes.

"If its money he requires, I have more than enough to pay for what you both won't receive from Gatou." Naruto smirked, pocketing his hands. Sasuke chuckled knowing exactly what he meant. Haku nodded and went darting off back towards the house.

"That work for you? One less opponent to fight." Naruto laughed, patting Sasuke on the back.

"I'll have to tell Kakashi, on top of having to keep training for a bit." Sasuke sighed, knowing that the training regiment would probably have to be discussed with multiple people.

"I'll train ya. It worked well enough with you didn't it?" Naruto began walking back towards Tazuna's house.

"I'm not sure Kakashi will like that much. He seems very suspicious of you." Sasuke countered.

"If he wants his crew to die, he'll refuse my offer." Naruto shrugged not turning back towards Sasuke. The boy shuttered at that thought, remembering how difficult the training had been.

"You can guard Tazuna after a meeting on the first day, and I can have my men work in shifts to cover him as well." Naruto said, after Sasuke had caught up to him. They made their way back, chatting a bit about Konoha and its changes, or lack thereof. When Tsunami opened the door, she had a mildly surprised look on her face.

"I just learned from this young lady that you will pay them to help protect my father and our family. Thank you." She reached forward and grabbed Naruto's hand.

"If you praise the dobe too much he'll get a big head." Sasuke punched Naruto in the shoulder and winked at Tsunami. Just as he was about to continue into the home a small body went barreling into him.

"Inari! Watch where you are running!" Tsunami criticized. Sasuke glared at the boy, leveling him for a moment with his black eyes.

"They are all going to die anyway, why should I care." He muttered and shoved passed Sasuke and Naruto. Tsunami went to shout at him again however was stopped by Naruto's hand.

"We can deal wi' him later, fer now, we need ta talk." Naruto spoke, going back to his Kano accent.

"Kakashi. Yer down fer the count this time. I'll train yer crew till they can fight like th' rest of us." Kano spoke to Kakashi, who was still propped up on the couch.

"I can't ask you to do that. I am the one responsible for them." Kakashi protested however he couldn't help but admit that he wouldn't be well enough.

"Tazuna, when'll th' bridge be done?" Kano asked, to which Tazuna paused to think.

"If I get some help, a week tops." He finally answered.

"I'll get me crew ta help." Tazuna nodded.

"In tha' time, I'll whip yer group inta shape." Kano grinned maniacally again, scaring Sakura who had just walked back into the room.

"You can't teach us anything! You aren't even a ninja!" She protested in a stuck up voice. Sasuke glared her down again.

"Shut up. If you don't want to learn fine. If you want to die, be my guest, but I'm not going to be killed here, I have more important things to do." Sasuke snapped at her.

"If you're learning from him Sasuke-kun then I will too. Make sure he teaches you everything he needs to." Sakura smiled and tried to sidle up to his side, however was blocked by Kano.

"I'll learn, its better than this lazy guy. Plus he is a ninja, he's got enough chakra that I can sense it, even when he's hiding it." Kunio added. That got Kano's attention.

"Yer a sensor aren't ya." He smirked, going forward to shake Kunio's hand. The boy nodded and took Kano's hand only to pull back almost immediately. He wavered a bit and put his hand on the doorframe to steady himself. Kano smiled pleasantly at him. Kunio looked at Sasuke with what seemed to be terror, before running over to him and pulling him into another room.

"Sasuke…We can't trust him. He's hiding the most immense amount of chakra I've ever felt. More than the Hokage. More than Jiraiya-sama." Kunio spoke in a hushed voice. Sasuke pulled his arm forcefully away from Kunio.

"I knew he was strong the moment I fought him. I lost." Sasuke growled in a low voice. Sasuke proceeded to walk away and ignore his teammates protests, mostly because he had no idea who he was talking about, but also because high levels of chakra didn't mean he was untrustworthy, Sasuke knew that he hid them for a reason, and was just messing with Kunio because it was in his nature.

"A'righ'. In th' mornin' I'll be wakin' ya up brigh' an early. I don' train slackers, if ye keep up, ye can stay. If ye don' train, ye don' learn from me." Kano spoke, and with that he turned and walked out the door.

"You heard him, although I'm not sure you understood…He said that he's gonna train you three bright and early, and if you slack off he won't help you." Kakashi spoke, gesturing to Sasuke to carry him to a room for rest. Sasuke threw his sensei over his shoulder and helped to put him down, without saying a word, and snuck out of the house not long after to avoid Sakura. He ended up wandering around the woods for a bit, hunting a few rabbits when he could and settled down at a small fire he'd made. Cleaning off the rabbit he took his time to do it nice and clean, making sure that none of the fur was still on the body before he began to cook them.

"Mind if we join you?" Haku asked, with Zabuza not far behind her, looking pissed off but not as if he would attack.

"No I don't mind. If you would like a rabbit I have a few more." Sasuke offered, putting two more onto sticks and started to roast them. He'd had a few herbs in his pack that he would season food with, mostly because he enjoyed spicy foods.

"Thank you. You really aren't the same way as I thought you would be." Haku spoke, helping to rotate the rabbits every so often.

"If I hadn't met Naruto again, I would have met your expectation. Naruto and I were friends back when we were very little. One day he just left, and after that my life went south. Up until last week, I thought that I'd lost my best friend as well as all of my family, but when I discovered who the Captain of that ship was, I realized that my best friend was still alive, even if he wasn't part of Konoha anymore." Sasuke spoke, probably the longest sentence he'd said in a long time.

"Yeah that kid's something else. He ain't your normal pirate that's for sure." Zabuza spoke gruffly, pulling one of the rabbits from the fire and biting into it. Sasuke then noticed his sharklike teeth.

"Its from being one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. As part of becoming one of them we all filed our teeth down into points to resemble sharks." He explained, opening his mouth wide so Sasuke could see all of them.

"And it makes it hard for him to eat sometimes, because he would bite his lips accidentally and start bleeding all over the place." Haku chuckled, getting a fierce glare from her friend. Sasuke chuckled as well, and grabbed the other two rabbits off of the flames, handing one to Haku and keeping one for himself. Just as he was about to take a bite of it someone swiped it out of his hands.

"Not too bad Sasuke, I never expected you to be able to cook." Naruto commented, handing back the rabbit with a bite taken out of it. Sasuke halfheartedly glared at him, but put another rabbit on, the last one he'd caught, and began to cook while he ate.

"How should we handle Gatou." Naruto asked, knowing that at this point he wasn't going to start a war with a whole country if he killed the man.

"He's going to hire extra mercenaries because we left him, but they are small fries compared to the group you have here. Except that pink haired one. She couldn't hit a target at point blank range." Haku spoke. Sasuke sighed but said nothing, continuing to cook the rabbit.

"Why is she like that? When I was in Konoha she was a sweet child." Naruto asked.

"I couldn't tell you. When my family was massacred I stopped associating with people, and she started to stalk me, and force me into dating her, and even tried to get the council to set up an omiai with her. However, the joke is on her because I don't play for that team." Sasuke muttered. It wasn't uncommon for ninja to be interested in the same sex, many times because there was an odd number of male to female shinobi in the world. Haku nodded, glad to hear that the advances of the pink haired girl weren't going to affect Sasuke and his life. Naruto was looking at his rabbit intently, a look Sasuke knew all too well. He'd hadn't told many people his sexual preference because that look is what he got more often than not, a look of subtle disgust.

"I've said my part. Whatever happens in this fight I'll work hard to back all of you up. You all are stronger than I am so if that's the best I can do, I will do it well." Sasuke stood up and made his way through the woods until he found a nice spot, and maneuvered some of the branches and leaves until they made a bed in the trees. Many people assumed that Sasuke only had a fire affinity, however he had an earth and lightning affinity as well, making him a rare find. Using some mud he softened the base of his bed, and laid down to rest.

"Why did you do that?" Haku asked Naruto.

"Do what?" Naruto turned to her, genuinely confused.

"Ugh. Men. You heard what he said, he's not interested in women, that's right up your alley, on top of the fact that you can't deny he's attractive." Haku spoke, going back to her girly habit of trying to pair people up. Naruto couldn't deny that he found Sasuke attractive. His pale skin and dark eyes were a contrast that Naruto found alluring, as well as his well trained body and muscular physique, he would be lucky to have him.

"Trust me, if I weren't travelling around as often as I do, I'd do my best to woo him here and now. However I can't drag him into my life, and he has his own back in Konoha. I'm sure he has no issues finding people to date." Naruto sighed. Haku slapped him on the back of the head.

"Go after him. Are you seriously saying you don't know the rumors about him? He's a loner. He's known as the lonely Uchiha." Haku spoke. She'd heard about him while working as a Hunter nin, learning that he hadn't been working with others as allies but out of necessity. To her she'd misunderstood it to be arrogance, however she can tell it was solely directed towards himself. He secluded himself from other people to avoid conflict.

"Fine. I'm not promising anything to you." Naruto muttered, stomping out the fire as he passed it, making sure to be quiet as he walked through the forest. Coming up on the nest that Sasuke had made Naruto counted himself as impressed. It was obvious that Sasuke had survival skills for when he was in the wild, hunting, fire building, as well as camp preparations. He found Sasuke himself curled up in the middle of the nest. The boy had one arm underneath his head acting as a pillow, with the other around his body. His legs were pulled up into his chest, where they were protecting his vital organs even as he slept.

"If you are going to watch me sleep, make sure I'm actually asleep first." Sasuke muttered, groggy sounding. Naruto chuckled and lowered himself into the nest next to his friend. Sasuke stiffened, noticeably, but said nothing as Naruto got comfortable.

"For something made out of sticks leaves and mud this is surprisingly comfortable. I still prefer my quarters on the ship though." Naruto spoke, his deep voice making the nest vibrate slightly. Sasuke couldn't fathom what had brought Naruto here, especially when he'd made his thoughts clear with only his face.

"You misunderstood me. I wasn't judging you. I was judging the people who make their opinions about others at face value only. Trust me, I have no right to judge you. Look at how I've lived my life." Naruto spoke softly, while Sasuke could only make a face with his back to the pirate.

"I hope you don't mind, and if you do I really don't care but I will be sleeping here tonight. Like I said, for something made of nature its comfortable." Naruto said and rolled over, laying with his back to Sasuke. It wasn't long before he could hear the soft snores coming from the blonde boy.

"Damn you Naruto." Sasuke muttered, feeling himself fall asleep again.

Morning found the two boys faster than either of them would have liked. Naruto pulled his hair out of his mouth, while feeling a weight on his chest. He glanced down to find a head of black hair tucked into his neck. His limbs were mostly tangled with the other persons, legs tucked and twisted around each other, while arms were pressed in between their bodies. A small groan came from the body on his, and in that moment two black eyes met his blue ones. A moment passed between them, when suddenly Sasuke was replaced with a log and had disappeared.

"Oh, fuck me sideways." Naruto groaned. He found his way back to Tazuna's house and began to knock on doors to wake everyone else up to train. Once the groggy teens were awake and gathered into the kitchen Kano took charge.

"A'righ. Ye will begin wi' a run up the moun'ain an' back." He directed. Sasuke took off immediately, leading the group. Kano knew it was because of the morning they both had, however he hadn't expected such a reaction. Sasuke was embarrassed. Noticeably by how he had run away from his friend, however not for the reason Kano thought. Sasuke was aware that he'd been laying on Kano's chest for at least a half hour before the other boy had woken up. He had enjoyed the feeling of being held and didn't bother to move until Kano had woken up. When Sasuke panicked and replaced himself with a log from the forest and ran away.

"Ye a'righ' mate?" Kano asked, running alongside Sasuke where he'd caught up to him.

"Yeah. Peachy." Sasuke panted, starting to get out of breath halfway up the mountain. It amazed him how little stamina he had.

" 'xactly why yer runnin'. Builds endurance." Kano smirked. Sasuke wouldn't meet his eyes, however there was a flush on his face, whether it was from the running or their morning. Sasuke pressed on, running faster making it first to the top of the mountain with Kano and Kunio following closely after.

"Where's Sakura?" Kunio asked looking around them. Sasuke sighed strongly.

"I'll get 'er." Kano ran back in the direction they had come from. It was still early morning when they had arrived at the mountain top, so he knew they had a good amount of time left in the day.

"So, you seem friendly with Kano." Kunio stated, getting a glare from Sasuke, although it was half hearted.

"What makes you say that?" Sasuke responded neutrally, making sure to keep any emotions from his voice.

"Your chakra. Everyone has chakra that is responsive towards their emotions, its how it works, it can be hard for the average person to read, however as a sensor I've developed the ability even further to read emotions from chakra. Its rather useful." Kunio explained. Sasuke paused for a moment, and then blushed heavily and turned away.

"I won't tell anyone if that's what you're thinking. Trust me, I know my standing in society. I'm not from a major clan, nor am I really that special other than my ability to sense things. I just want to survive." Kunio put his hands up then began to stretch. The boy was smaller than Sasuke, not by much but he was still the smallest of their group. He was skinny with no fat on him, but no real muscle definition either. His hair was brown and messy, while his eyes were bright green. He had a nose that reminded Sasuke of a crows beak, and his smile was mischievous.

"Yeah. I understand. Thank you." Sasuke spoke, not having to force himself to speak nicely for once. After having spent enough time with Kano he noticed that being nice was easier than being cold. Depending on who he spoke to at least. Kunio looked at him surprised, genuinely expecting to be snapped at.

"Got 'er!" Kano called almost cheerfully as he dragged the exhausted pink haired girl up the mountainside by the back of her shirt.

"How….can you…..expect…..a girl….like me…to run…up…a….mountain." Sakura panted out, gasping in between breathes.

"Where was she?" Kunio asked, poking Sakura on the shoulder, noticing she didn't have enough energy to fight back.

" 'bout a quarter th' way." Kano dropped her. She rolled onto her back and fought to catch her breath.

"An' back down!" Kano called with a smile and went running back down the way they had come.

"Fuck me." Sasuke muttered, getting a chuckle from Kunio as they both continued back down. It was a lot faster going back down the mountain than going up, so they made it back down by early afternoon.

"Now. I wan' ya ta climb trees." Kano gestured to Sasuke who proceeded to walk up the side of the tree and back down.

"Ya should be able ta do it. Teme go ta Tazuna." Kano instructed him, before turning back to the other two genin. Sasuke did as he was told, finding that he could help out with some of the building while he was there. As far as they knew, removing Haku and Zabuza from the picture had crippled Gatou, making it so that they only had a few low-leveled thugs. Sasuke did his best to help build the bridge as he knew Naruto was training the others. Some part of him was glad that he didn't have to be near the blonde. He had lost the boy as a child and regained him later in life as a soldier. Some part of him wanted Naruto to be in his life, more permanently than he knew he would be, and the other part was glad that Naruto wasn't going to come back to Konoha. He couldn't deny his attraction to the man who had disappeared. He'd grown strong and seemingly wise. Sasuke had grown stupid and entitled. What would Naruto see in him anyway. The day passed quickly with Sasuke guarding Tazuna and helping where needed, however he was still a guard so he couldn't do too much.

"You're not a bad kid. I can tell. It's a good act, but you aren't what people thought you were." Tazuna commented at some point.

"When the world wants you to be the lone wolf, that's what you are, because if anything they don't expect anything else out of you." Sasuke commented back, getting a slightly regretful look out of Tazuna. After returning the bridge builder to his home, Sasuke went back to Naruto's ship and made himself at home in a hammock amongst the rest of the men. It was better than the forest, and Naruto had already said he didn't mind because Sasuke got a long with the rest of the crew. He drifted off to sleep with the gentle rocking of the water, and had no dreams or nightmares that night.

* * *

And there you have it folks! I hope that people at least enjoy somewhat of where the story is going. Its different from what happens normally, but thats the fun part! Also next chapter will be from Naruto's point of view, which will also be different because I've switched POV a lot without a good bit of warning, however I am stating here and now that it will primarily be Naruto's. THANKS AGAIN FOLKS!


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